The news will make uncomfortable reading for the likes of Microsoft and BlackBerry, both of whom had hoped to generate more consumer interest. The former, in particular, will be disappointed that the hype surrounding the release of Windows 10 has not translated into stronger smartphone sales.

In terms of raw figures, Gartner reports that 5,874,000 Windows Phones were sold during the period, compared to 977,000 BlackBerry handsets. Meanwhile, 298,797,000 Android handsets were purchased, with iOS sales figures hitting 46,062,000. Google’s Android operating system, of course, benefits from being used by a wide range of manufacturers, including Samsung, HTC and Huawei.

BlackBerry has also decided to enter the Android market for the first time, with the release of BlackBerry Priv, but Gartner research director Anshul Gupta believes that the move is unlikely to improve the company’s fortunes.

‘We don’t see BlackBerry’s adoption of Android as bringing any massive advantage; we think it’s too late now,” he said. “If you’re targeting the enterprise marking, the rise of people bringing their own devices to connect to enterprise systems means you’re going to lose out - it’s all about the consumer market."

In terms of manufacturers, the report highlighted Huawei as making the most significant gains during the quarter. The Chinese firm saw sales increase by 7.7 per cent compared to the same period 12 months ago, shipping 27,262,300 units.